


Public Faces

by BeignetBenny



Category: Captain America (Movies), Iron Man (Movies), The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Renegotiated Sokovia Accords, Canon Divergence - Avengers: Endgame (Movie), Childbirth, Endgame hurt my feelings, M/M, Mpreg, Parent Steve Rogers, Parent Tony Stark, Pregnant Steve Rogers, Sokovia Accords, Unplanned Pregnancy
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-06-12
Updated: 2020-03-13
Packaged: 2020-05-02 02:53:32
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 9,365
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19190473
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BeignetBenny/pseuds/BeignetBenny
Summary: One year after Thanos. One year after half the world was brought back. One year since Tony realized he couldn't live without Steve and Steve sure as hell couldn't live without Tony. The world was supposed to be safe from threats with the decimation having been reversed and the infinity stones no longer being in the picture. Yet with the finalization of the Accords still waiting to go through, neither are sure the world is safe enough yet to bring in one more. Despite that Steve and Tony don't really have much of a choice.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Man, back in the day I was a stucky pureist who wouldn't write nor read mpreg fanfic for the avengers and only shipped Tony with Pepper. Now look at me. Endgame hurt my feelings so bad that I needed to fix some things.

He didn’t know what he expected first if anything at all. Throwing up. Throbbing headaches. Back pain. Hell, he wouldn’t have even been surprised if the first three months passed without any acknowledgment. He didn’t get sick. Even minor injuries healed themselves in record time. The few benefits of being a genetically enhanced super soldier.

But something did happen, and he wouldn’t have noticed it if he hadn’t looked up.

A bright beam of light shot above him. At first glance, he just assumed it was Tony’s in response to Clint’s call from a hundred feet above. However, instead of the steady blast of power and an inevitable explosion in front of him, Steve got caught up in the light just a half-second too long.

Something was wrong. Light shot from the sides of the blast like solar flares reaching across the stretch of the sky. The flares would move with the main source of light, refracting off of the sun when his line of sight crossed west just a little too much. Automatically, his eyes closed tight. The faintest ache began behind his brow bone.

“Cap!” Natasha called from beside him, a minuscule delay recounted her demand in his ear. Later problem, he decided and braced himself for impact. The weight of the Black Widow landed in the middle of his shield for no more than a second before he pressed upwards for her to leap off of it. Grabbing hold of a drone that sped above. He risked an upward glance again, the lines had disappeared.

“Even better,” Steve mumbled to himself, strapping his shield onto his back. “Much later problem.”

The mission continued on as most of them tend to. The evil defeated or have managed to escape. The information was secured and if not secured by the Avengers themselves then by an ex-SHIELD operative who insisted they were trustworthy. Bruce smashed, and Tony said something snarky that only got an eye roll from Cap. It was normal. The ride on the quinjet, if not a little more unsteady than usual, was normal. The landing on the expanse of lawn in front of the even newer Avengers facility was greeted by a slightly faster landing by the means of Falcon, who flew alongside to make sure they weren’t being followed. All normal. All routine. Yet something just felt wrong.

He knew better than to ignore his instincts, but it was a win the team needed. One that couldn’t be met with anything but the continued celebration that the night already offered. The curiosity of his own wellbeing could wait. It would have too.

The pop of a champagne bottle and a bright smile on the lips of his partner brought him back to reality.

“Ladies and gentleman. Aliens and people of earth. Hulk and Bruce,” Tony began, gripping the spilling bottle in one hand and the cork in the other. “It has only been one year since we got all of you back. One year since Thanos disappeared before our very eyes. One year since _we_ saved the world.”

Some shouted, some raised their glasses in cheers, others stayed solemn and silent. It was hard for everyone. All the work to bring people back only to lose others. Steve’s eyes dropped down to the glass he held tightly. He wasn’t a big drinker, had no reason to be since it didn’t make a difference anyway. Yet, when Thor arrived shortly after the quinjet had landed with his Asgardians of the Galaxy in tow, he offered Steve another small bottle of Asgardian ale. Aged thousands of years, perfect for the god, supers soldier, or genetically enhanced raccoon whose luck with earthly drinks had run stale.

He felt a nudge from beside him and he glanced up to meet steely green eyes. “What? You two have been together for a year and you’re already bored?” Steve smiled. Nat smiled right back.

Bringing her back took three tries. Two of them ended in running back to 1970 to steal Pym particles from himself. The soul stone was stubborn, but Steve was worse. The first time ended thirty seconds after he arrived on Vormir. A hooded image turned around slowly and as soon as his vision flashed red and Mjolnir left his hand he knew he’d have to restart. The second was immediate, a few minutes after he first arrived. It was Red Skull. He hated that it was Red Skull. He stole Mjolnir from himself and the adversary took one of the stones but refused the exchange of the soul. Three months of his own time passed and he returned. Refreshed and hopeful having lingered too long with Peggy and her family after he returned to 1970. The time he returned an hour before and waited down low on the path. Red Skull hadn’t noticed nor did he even suspect the ship to land. Clint and Natasha barely walked along the earthy red surface of the planet before Steve shoved the stone into their hands. For a moment too long it was silent.

“Did it work?” Clint asked, the first one to speak up.

“It will,” Steve said. He spared a glance at Nat. Her face fell, and he knew that she realized.

“I don’t make it back, do I, Cap?”

“You were the soul of Avengers and we couldn’t lose you.”

A small smile lit up her face. “Promise nobody has to die?”

“If Clint goes back to Rhodey and Nebula to make sure the right Nebula comes back.”

“Jesus, it’s that bad.” Natasha’s comment brought him back to the present. It was a risk Bruce had mentioned before Steve offered himself. It’s time travel. Time isn’t linear and sometimes moments will feel simultaneous. It was the world’s worst case of Deja vu and Natasha was the only other person to really understand it.  
“That bad.” He agreed. He forced himself to focus on the present. Lucky enough for him Tony made it all too obvious. Steve didn't have the heart to tell him it was overkill after the first 45 seconds. It was a cheers. An introduction to the new facility.

"Okay, okay, we get it," Clint called from the crowd. "The evil has been defeated and everybody has rooms at the facility. We can drink now."  
More cheers, hooting, hollering, drinking. When they weren't cheering they were quickly leaving the conglomerate of superheroes and reporters to make their way to the food or find their respective rooms if they chose to stay the night. Tony didn't seem to have minded the interjection. Hell, he looked relieved. That thousand-watt smile faded into almost a grimace of annoyance. Steve could only shrug in solidarity as he watched the billionaire meander his way through the crowd. He stopped in front of Steve after waving off the advances of a journalist friend of Pepper’s.

“Cap, I’m gonna steal you for a second.” He said, just loud enough so he could be heard while standing their “Safe distance” apart.

“I don’t get a choice?” Steve countered, but already followed Tony’s lead to somewhere private.

The new lab took up the majority of the basement. It sat behind lead doors with scanners and locks making sure only those who are cleared could enter. Which only resulted in Tony himself, Bruce, Peter, and Shuri to come and go as they so pleased. Steve was still classified as a guest.

Tony sauntered into the lab only to let himself drop onto the stool in front of the holographic screen. He rested his head in his hands and sighed.  
“Trouble in paradise?” Steve quipped, taking a step closer to his boyfriend.

“I’ll get back into it.” He promised. Forcing himself to sit back up once more. “They hated the speech.”

“It wasn’t bad. We all loved the first part.”

“But they wanted to hear you too.” Tony reached out his hand, and Steve took it without a second thought. He was pulled down to Tony’s level, then sat beside him. “Still scrambled?”

“Two steps forward, one step back.” He said with a comforting pat to Tony’s thigh. “I only lost about half of the fight and then the tail end of your speech.”

A smile crept up on the mechanic's lips. “Trust me, you didn’t miss much.” The smile faded just as quickly. “Lang is here. Maybe we can ask him how permanent the disorientation of extended time in the quantum realm is.”

“Or I could just deal with it,” Steve said with a quirk of his eyebrow. “Just like I always do.”

“It’s not as bad with Nat.”

“We took her out of her own time. I had to meet twenty plus different versions of myself.”

“Nobody thought it would take that long.”

“Yeah, but it did.”

“I think I miss the old Cap.” Tony hummed. “The confidence, the justice, the _American Way_. The way you swung the chair around and scolded kids in detention.”

This time, it was Steve’s turn to crack a smile. “Peter tell you?”

“He didn’t have to tell me. I’ve got eyes everywhere.” It was silent for a moment. “Harley told me.”

“Yeah well, I think I left that Cap in 2012." The only sound for a moment was the distant pound of a rock and roll baseline from the main event. "I miss the old Iron Man."

"The old iron man is dead." Tony's response was sharp and melancholic. He tapped the arc reactor strapped to his chest. A very specific code that only resulted in the hand of iron man crawling along Tony's skin.

"He won't be for long." Steve stood up reluctantly and made a beeline for freshly polished shield mounted on the wall.

"You gonna grab the hammer too, showoff?" Tony joked adjusting the suit sleeve over the arm that wielded the blaster. "The Daily Bugle would love that."

"They'd love to learn that Iron Man and Captain America are dating too." He grabbed the shield and secured it around his arm. Not for safety, but for show. A reassurance to the world that Captain America was back to socking Adolf in the jaw on weekends and for some reason not fighting the white supremacists who sit comfortably in Office on the weekdays. He was the dancing monkey again. "You bring back party animal Iron Man I bring back fresh from the ice Captain America."

"The superhero i fell in love with." Tony joked as he walked towards the large metal doors. Steve caught up quickly.

"The cocky bastard I tolerated."

Tony mock gasped and Steve already knew what was coming. "Watch your language, Mr. Rogers."

“I’ll work on it.” He leaned over for a quick kiss that only escalated as the chill of Iron Man’s gauntlet connected to his cheek. The vision of the extras steaks of light coming off from the blasts flashed in his mind. Automatically, Steve pulled back, holding onto Tony’s wrist. “Did something get damaged today? I didn’t see you get hit but-”

“What are you talking about?” Tony let his wrist be held as Steve continued to examine it. Knowing that if anything was wrong anyway, Captain America would not be the one to notice the flaw in the tech.

“It’s just,” He began. “The beams looked unstable. During the mission, it looked like they were shooting off.”

“They were fine.” Tony insisted, finally reclaiming his hand. “I didn’t notice anything.”

“You didn’t see-” Before he had the chance to finish, the doors opened. Revealing a Hulk… Bruce… Steve still wasn’t entirely sure what the ex-rage monster wanted to be referred to as, behind the door.

“Everybody’s looking for you upstairs.” He made a vague over the shoulder motion.

“And by everybody you mean,” Tony asked, already peacocking into his over the top nature.

“Everybody.” Bruce reiterated. “They want to see _the man who saved the world._ ”

“It was a team effort.” Steve offered, but was cut off by a hand to his chest.

“I mean, I did make a GPS for time travel, make the gauntlet, and was the one to really kill Thanos” Tony began. “It’s a title I deserve.”

“I change my mind,” Steve moved Tony’s hand from his chest, the force just for show. “I don’t actually miss this.”

_-_

There was a melancholy that hung in the air. Steve wasn’t sure if that was just his own feelings he was carrying or perhaps all who survived Thanos felt it. Like the world couldn’t help but carry the weight of the five years in between. Scott’s daughter grew up, Thor still went quiet when Thanos was mentioned as the weight of the people he lost weighed him down, Wanda still lost Vision, the list was endless. The world was supposed to be better, which it was in the most technical sense. But it just wasn’t good enough. And everyone could tell. No one more than himself and Tony.

He let out a breath he didn’t realize he was holding on to when he felt a weight on his shoulder. “Up for a meet and greet?” Tony asked from his Steve’s right. “People wanna meet you.”

“Depends on which people.”

“Hi, Mr. Captain America.” They turned to see Peter Parker as well as two other teenagers standing alongside him.

“Queens,” Steve said, the feelings of doubt starting to dissipate. The kid had heart and if he was the next generation of earth’s defenders then maybe things weren’t entirely as bleak as he thought. “You can call me Steve, you know that.”

“Yeah but-” He began, but was cut off by one of the teens, a heavier kid with a goofy smile, grabbing hold of his hand and shaking it violently.

“Mr. Captain America! Wow, I didn’t think I’d ever get to meet you after you were a fugitive.”

Peter nudged the kid. “Ned, don’t.”

“Ned?” Steve repeated as he steadied the handshake. “Nice to meet you kid, but I’m still a fugitive. Technically.”

Ned quirked a smile. “Cool.”

“For what it’s worth I think the Sokovia Accords are bullshit.” The other, a girl wearing a loose plaid shirt and her hair barely tamed stated. Peter didn’t stop her, instead, his eyes stayed trained on her as she spoke. ‘So that’s the one.’ Steve thought, but wouldn’t say it out loud. Just in case.

“Yeah, well so did I.” He agreed with a nod. Tony shot a warning look and opened his mouth to change the topic, but the girl, MJ Peter had told Tony at one point, kept going.

“I think you need to be kept accountable but I don’t think it is being under the UN is where it needs to be. Not even because it’s super fucking invasive to keep a list of you all like weapons instead of people. But, the UN hires people to represent a whole group where in reality people should be able to speak for themselves. And I think a lot of us like and need superheroes.”

“You free to represent me in court in eight months?”

MJ smiled. “I’ll see what I can do.”

“Okay, debate practice over.” Tony intervened, physically stepping in between the teenagers and Tony. “Pete, I’ll catch up with you in a minute, okay?”

“I didn’t think they’d talk about it.”

“A minute, kid.” He insisted. 

Peter reluctantly left his two friends in tow. Tony turned back to Steve, the inkling of true anger settling on his brow bone. “Cap-”

“I know,” Steve acknowledged. “I was just playing along.”

“You can’t still be thinking about contesting.”  
  
“You can’t still be serious about just going along with it.”

“I’m not saying the Avengers need a leash.” Tony clarified. “I’m saying that our world keeps getting bigger and bigger. Just look at half of the people here. We have gods, warriors that are thousands of years old. People who are half planet, androids, some are green, some have antennas and can feel people’s feelings. It’s been an insane few fucking years since the Accords were written.”

“And you think having a list of theoretical threats is going to save us?” Steve argued taking a step into Tony’s space. A space that was already practically nonexistent between them anyway. “Tony these are people being cataloged with plans of being used as weapons. Throwing us into wars that we never should have been in in the first place.”

“You know, that’s really ironic coming from you.” Tony took a sip from his drink, no longer making eye contact in hopes to defuse the situation. “You were made to be a weapon.”

“Well, it was Stark Industries before you came around. Of course I was a secret weapon.”

“I think I want to retire.” The comment from the genius felt misplaced and uninvited in the conversation. It almost sounded foreign on Tony’s lips. Steve couldn’t find an answer to that before Tony continued. “Not right now, or anytime soon. Just… just eventually. I want to settle down. I want to have kids. But, first and foremost I want to be able to say that the world is safe for them to grow up in.”

“Tony-”

“Don’t you ever get tired, Steve?” He continued. “All the quote-unquote superheroes here and we didn’t even think about calling a single one of them too, I don’t know, handle the small shit. It was just covering old tracks that your little band of merry men left behind to make sure you are allowed back in the country. Anyone of us could have handled that without a second thought. Hell, you did it without even being there 100%. It only got messy because it was _us_ fixing it. Now imagine a choose your own avenger book. We’d really get a break.”

“Okay.” the response didn’t feel like his own.

“Okay?” Tony scoffed. “Did Steve Rogers just agree with me?” Apparently, the response didn’t sound like him either.

“I do want a break,” He relented. “I do, but not now. I don’t trust the world to hold itself together if we leave. Not yet.”

“It would be less leaving more a vacation for an undisclosed amount of time.” Tony closed the practically non-existent space between them and grabbed hold of the lapels of Steve’s shirt. Steve’s breath still catches in his throat as if it were the first time. “After the court hearings for the Accords, I’ll buy a place in Tahiti. Just the two of us for a little while.”

The presence of the rest of the world magnified itself with the flash of a camera that the two Avengers immediately recoiled from each other’s touch in reaction to. The aforementioned camera and the reporter who clung to it caught their eye. He looked down carefully at the screen of the DSLR, and Steve saw what he assumed to be a picture too dark and in the wrong direction. At least that’s what he could make out.

“Shit.” Steve mumbled, mostly to himself. The rays from Tony’s unibeam suddenly making tragically perfect sense with the addition of the moment of blurry vision. So it was getting worse.

“He didn’t get anything,” Tony defended. “Probably wasn’t listening either. Which, I still don’t get why it’s gotta be a secret.”

He had almost forgotten about the picture despite it being mere seconds ago and what triggered the realization. “I’ve never been to Tahiti,” He said instead. “And I feel like reporters hiding in bushes may ruin the experience.”

“You get used to them,” Tony said with a small smile playing at his lips. He raised his drink in his unarmored hand. Steve matched the motion and they both took sips from their respective drinks. Steve could see it in Tony’s face that the alcohol went down as if it was nothing, but his burned.

He barely got “Oh my God” out before a minor coughing fit began. It felt like his first drink again. A shot of brandy at seven that claimed to help with a fever and chest pains. Fire went down his esophagus and settled in his stomach. An ache radiated into his lungs and his heart started beating faster. Just with the smallest of tastes, he felt nauseous and very nearly tipsy. Thor’s voice echoed in the back of his head. ‘ _Not meant for mortal men_.’

Steve should have known. People like him didn’t have the benefits of “Later problems.”

Tony was by his side in an instant, asking questions faster than Steve could register them. It wasn’t until he commanded Friday to do a quick health scan on him did Steve speak up.

“Choked on ice,” The lie sputtered, but the point got across as Tony huffed. “I’m fine.”

“That was dramatic.” He relented.

“It took me by surprise.”

“Who would have thought that after all of this, Captain America gets taken down by drinking scotch a little too fast.”

“Me and ice have kinda a bad history already, Tony.” He played along with a final cough, the burn fading away while his vision cleared again. “I’m gonna get water, I’ll be right back.”

“Do you want me to-”

“No,” Steve waved him off. “I can handle it by myself.” It took only a few moments for Tony to join the party again. Reassuring them that Cap was fine and the various futures planned for the Avengers.

Steve could handle it by himself. If there was anything to handle anyway.

He didn’t want to waste the drink, and he sure as hell didn’t want to return it to Thor. What would he say? A wry smile and a: _More mortal then we both thought. Can I still borrow the hammer though?_

The edge of drunkenness he felt dissipated entirely as he climbed the stairs to the watch level above the living area. The party continued on below. The glass floor almost made the view look as if he was watching the party on a TV. It wasn’t a life he was ever a part of, just watching it from the outside. Constantly out of time and with all the time in the world. A weight settled low in what felt like his stomach. Steve could only hope that was just the alcohol hitting. He made it to the space he was looking for. A passage connecting the two ends of the glass areas. It was made entirely of dark metal decor and one-way mirrors. One the outside it looked to be a geometric chandelier of sorts. But there was one person in particular that claimed the space as his own. Quiet, blocked off from the rest of the world yet you can still view it. All without getting hurt.

The walkway was empty save for just the person he was looking for. “Hey Buck,” Steve hummed, as he sat down beside his best friend. The light reflected off the glass he still held and onto the windows around them. The shield was abandoned below, Sam Wilson stood close by it. Eyeing those who were brave enough to grab hold and take quick pictures with it. “I’ve never known you as one to miss out on a dance.”

“I haven’t gotten used to this music yet.” He breathed. “Or the people.”

“Yeah, I heard you like goats more than people now.”

“Goats don’t look at me and only think about the horrible shit I’ve done.”

“No, but people don’t usually have horns or can ram into at top speed. Usually.” Steve looked down below them, all types milling about the closest thing he had to a home in decades. It was a new world that the two of them had been thrown into. A new world that supposedly progressed enough for people to speak how they feel. Sometimes progress is slower than expected. “Can I sit?”  
  
Bucky only nodded, keeping an eye on those below them. “Sam and I are heading to Munich in a few nights. You still bailing?”

Steve hummed a half answer, looking into the drink he couldn’t convince himself to take another sip from. “You know I’ve gotta stay in good graces right now, Buck. I can’t risk-”

“When the hell have you ever been someone who wanted to stay on the good side of the bullies?”

“Since I started dating someone who was.” The words stung in his throat. Everything just felt wrong. Nothing was supposed to happen the way it did. “If I came back from a mission without any clearance from higher-ups everything we finally made would be destroyed. The facility, our team. This isn’t a family I want to lose, Bucky. And I know I sure as hell can’t stop you from the mission.”

“You could stop Sam.”

“Yeah, but you’d do something stupid if you went alone. I wouldn’t trust you to come back alive.”

“I would have left all the stupid with you.” Bucky smiled, it was small and forced away fast, but it was a smile nonetheless. “Does Tony know yet?”

“Tony doesn’t know anything,” Steve admitted. “Hell, I don’t even know anything yet.”

“You took a blood test weeks ago.”

“I don’t want to know the answer,” He pressed a hand to his chest, the ache returning as if he drank the alcohol of gods again. A burn stinging deep behind his ribs. Steve couldn’t help but wince. “I’ve got other shit to deal with.”

“The exact same other shit that made you take the test in the first place?” Bucky’s point hung in the air. Steve almost wasn’t willing to answer.

“The serum makes my cells regenerate faster than they can die. Anything foreign, anything new, anything different,” he clarified. “Just doesn’t exist anymore after a few seconds. A few days tops. The test may be outdated by now and this is just-”

“Just what?” Bucky cut off. “Turns out the serum isn’t permanent and you turn back into the chronically ill kid weighing in at 90 pounds? Or…”

“Or there’s another super soldier.” Steve finished reluctantly.

“That’d make more sense then you giving up just for Tony.”

“It was never just Tony.” He countered. “It’s that the world deserves all her best defenders working together. We can’t just call Danvers or Thor to help. We can’t just chase down infinity stones and call it a day after they’re destroyed. Thanos was the biggest threat we’ve had but I wouldn’t be surprised if there was a bigger guy just waiting.

“Maybe he wouldn’t even need the stones,” Steve continued. “All that stuff and more it could just do on its own. And then what? I don’t run away, Buck. I can’t bring a kid into a world that’s first line of defense I can’t trust.” The line hung in the air. Just mentioning it, even in the theoretical, felt too real.

“So you do know.”

“I don’t know.” Steve forced the half-finished Asgardian and Earth cocktail into Bucky’s hand. “And I want to stay ignorant as long as I can.”


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I would just like to say... from the bottom of my heart... my bad.

Helen Cho was the best geneticist the world had to offer and Steve was thankful she would be in New York for the next week. When he first saw how she was able to save Clint after the Quicksilver incident or even how it was her tech that made Vision, he knew that what she did was create something of a “get out of death” free card. Even if he initially resented the idea of re-purposing the body that Ultron intended for himself. A card that Tony swiped after Thanos and the rest of his army turned to dust. The cradle had practically made him like new again, aside from a few scars burned into his hand and up his arm into his shoulder that turned out to be nearly irreversible. But, they faded. Five patches of skin discolored along his knuckles and one prominent in the middle. The infinity stones had made sure to leave their mark forever on Tony, as if the power or the initial toll of a first failure didn’t do that enough.

Helen Cho was the best geneticist the world had to offer and Steve was thankful. However, he had never wished someone suddenly lost the ability to do their job well more than the moment she looked back at him. A vile of his blood with the date two weeks prior scribbled onto the glass grasped in her hand.

“Did you know-”

“Yeah, I know.” Steve cut her off. He didn’t know, nor did he really want to, but the look on her face the instant the results came in gave it away. He couldn’t admit it to himself, not yet. All he wanted to know: Was Bucky right? If the serum wasn’t permanent, what truly triggered the sudden fading of its effects. And if it was “another super soldier” would everything go back to normal once it was gone. A shiver ran down his spine, if that was the truth he didn’t wish to think of a possibility of termination or just generally how it usually ends. He could barely convince himself that it was happening to him. The word still clung to his lips whenever he would attempt to bring it up with Tony. Which only happened once. At the party celebrating the new compound when his boyfriend mentioned kids, Steve very nearly told him right there.

“Do you not wish to discuss it?”

“There’s nothing really to talk about, is there?”   
Apparently that wasn’t the answer Helen wanted, yet she sighed and continued looking at the results reluctantly. “I have nothing to compare them too.”

“What do you mean?”

“The blood work.” She set the vile back down to it’s still untested counterpart and walked along the line of the medical bay bed, clutching a tablet in her hands. “I can’t compare the levels to anything we have here to see if it’s less concentrated or not.”

Steve managed a nod. For the first time in weeks, his mind was quiet on the subject. What Helen just said was a mission, whether she realized it or not. That was something for him to focus on. “I can get samples.”

Helen looked over her shoulder at the soldier, a puzzled look on her face. “I didn’t ask you too.”

“I know, but if it would help-”

“It would but that’s a risk you shouldn’t take, Captain Rodgers.” She sat her tablet down and folded her arms over her chest, leaning back against the counter behind her. “Not only are some of the symptoms of your long list of ailments coming back, which is dangerous in itself, your condition is just-”

“I was chronically ill for the first twenty-one years of my life.” He cut off. Helen only looked at him with a calculating stare. “I still picked fights in back alleys. I still ran around Brooklyn being a little punk with my best friend. I still joined the war effort. I had asthma, heart problems, anemia, scoliosis, and a lot of other things I was dealing with. Those were conditions, M’am. This? This is nothing.”

She was silent for a moment longer before sighing and turning her back to look over a paper on the counter. “Does the other father think this is nothing as well, Captain?”

“More than you realize.”

When Helen turned back around, she handed him a sheet of paper detailing the results of the tests taken so far. “The levels in the blood fluctuate with no discernible pattern. I’m surprised I even caught it dipping.”

“Dipping from what to what?” He asked, haphazardly scanning the papers in hopes his eyes wouldn’t cross over his fate while looking for different answers.

“Dipping from ‘that’s strange’ to ‘that’s bad’, Captain.” She disclosed. “I don’t know where you plan to get the samples from. But, wherever you choose and however long, you can just send them to my lab in Seoul. We’d get a clearer answer there.”

“I think I can get it within the day. You’re not leaving until tomorrow.” He pushed the results back into her hand to which she only sighed and sat them on the bed.

“Steve?”

“Yes, ma'am?”

“Don’t go alone.” Helen insisted and began to remove her gloves. The latex snapping off before being discarded into a disposal bin. “Yes, we want to have answers for your sake. But, what you have in you might hold the missing pieces of a super soldier program that was thrown away over fifty years ago.” She pulled her hair back with a polite smile and made her way to the exit. As the door opened, she looked over her shoulder. “I discovered the hard way that being able to create was one power people take the most advantage of.”

Helen Cho was the best geneticist the world offered and Steve was starting to resent her for it.

_-_

Just a few short days before Steve would have considered a nearly empty home heaven. A year straight of contractors walking the halls casually as Tony gave them directions for one wing and Steve and Natasha were in charge of the two others. More than the expected few visited as a home base. Peter would take rides up on the weekend to help or perhaps even to do homework in a small nook he had claimed as his own in the corner of Tony’s lab. Clint stayed close by as a trip home would be one that he planned to be on for an extended amount of time and could not possibly be convinced to leave his ranch. Bruce moved his lab from a rented space in Williamsburg and Thor was in the area so he offered his help. Scott Lang came and went, but then again that would happen when an exit portal from the quantum realm sat in the woods on the property. The list went on. It was nice, certainly. Tony and Steve used their time alone as efficiently as possible in more creative ways than he would care to admit. But instead of the familiar chaotic energy the new Avengers compound was constantly buzzing with, it felt...hollow.

Even those who had claimed the compound as their homes were away on missions or fixing messes that came back to bite them. All, save for three, had been busy.   
And Steve sure as hell was not asking Tony to go on this mission with him.

"This is little leagues, Cap. You can’t handle this yourself?” The widow asked casually from her spot sitting atop the counter.

“I could,” Steve defended himself, leaning forward onto the table, propping himself up on his arms. “But for the next few months I have to be baby sat, remember?”

“And the rest of our side doesn’t?” Nat huffed.

“Clint and Scott are back on house arrest.”

“Yet Sam and Bucky are on a romantic getaway to Munich for the week,” She teased. “And then there’s you.”

“And then there’s me,” He agreed. “And you.”

There was a moment of silence between the two before Nat finally spoke up. “They’re not gonna be in DC, Steve.”

“It's worth a shot," he insisted. "And if not this year, then we try 2014. Right before-"

"Hydra." She finished abruptly. "And SHIELD and Ultron."

"Yeah, in so few words" Steve agreed, his voice low. "I've been known to be nostalgic over that sort of thing."

A smile crept onto Natasha's lips. "I thought you were trying to move on. To grow."

His smile matched hers. "Sometimes letting go is harder than people realize."

"Alright, I'll go with you," Nat relented, folding her arms over her chest. "But you owe me a favor."

Time travel came easy. That's not something he thought he would ever say. It was practically a pastime. A linear mission, in and out. Being gone for days, weeks, months. Only to come back in five seconds. It was...familiar. Maybe that’s why Steve suggested it. Perhaps it was just a convenience, someone who never quite felt comfortable with how time passed through him will get the revenge of passing through time all he wants too. Or, what felt worse but ultimately more realistic, he still hadn’t found his place. Seventy years forward was a hard jump, one that felt like a few minutes at most. Yet, the going in and out of time as he so pleased felt like he was using this scientific revolution for his own self centered benefit. Clint would make an offhand comment about an Olympic game, Steve would casually key in the date and watch the event himself. Tony waxes poetic about his favorite dumpling place in Queens that closed ten years prior, Steve comes back by the end of the night with gyoza in a brown paper bag. Sam mentions soul music, Steve sees it live. Nat mentions a ballet she was in as a child, Steve watches from the crowd. It’s a selfish curiosity but he felt like he deserved it. It screwed a little with time sure, but after a rundown of half explanations from Dr. Strange and Banner, these universes of chance would create themselves anyway. Steve was simply taking advantage of it. That’s what he would tell himself. Just taking advantage.

With a countdown from Banner and a deep breath he felt himself jolted through time and space. Moments later his stomach inevitably caught up with him. The suit hid itself under his civilian clothing as he quickly made his way to one of the multitudes of trash cans spread along the side of the museum. If the tourists noticed, they didn’t seem to care. A grown man emptying the contents of his stomach in track pants, worn out sneakers, and a rock band t-shirt that looked to have seen many a better day wasn’t the most uncommon thing in DC. Steve wished he could chalk it up to inexperience. Clawed at the idea that it wasn’t the first time he had felt sick after jumping through time before.

“Jesus. After everything you still haven’t gotten your sea legs, Rogers?” Natasha snarked as she caught up with him, hands crossed over her chest. Steve leaned his full weight onto the trash can as he caught his breath. Nat noticed and her arms unfolded, a concerned look on her face. “What’s wrong?”

Steve knew he couldn’t lie to Natasha. She’d see right through him. In fact, he wouldn’t be surprised if she already had. “Turns out,” He began. “The serum may have an expiration date.”

It wasn’t a complete truth, just as it wasn’t a complete lie. It was a theory, one he could accept. One the Avengers could accept. But Natasha?

“Who’da thought vita rays have a shelf life of eighty years?” She didn’t believe him, not fully. That was understandable enough. He didn’t believe himself either.

Steve took a deep breath, steadying himself as more tourists walked past. Only a few even bothered to look their way. “Yeah, who’da thought.” He agreed and stood up to his full height, hoping the dizziness would fade in mere moments like the rest of the symptoms had done. It didn’t. His eyes closed for a moment and he took another deep breath.

Nat stood quietly beside him. He could feel her gaze examining every move he made. “Be honest with me, Steve.”

“Is this the favor?” He cut her off, as the spinning in his head finally dissipated and his breath leveled.

“I’m not gonna lie and say that it isn't” Nat admitted. “I can get it myself.”

“No, you won’t.” Steve interjected again. Yes, he was fully aware she could get it herself. Certain she could do it with her eyes closed and hands tied behind her back. More often than not, Steve knew he could do it too. All the more reason not to. It was supposed to be a walk in the park. It was supposed to feel normal. Before he knew about Thanos, before he knew he’d go to space and see people he love turn into dust and before he fell for the genius. He thought back to 2012 and the feeling he had as Tony fell from the sky. Maybe it wasn’t before he fell for the genius. Tony would have corrected him. Added to the list. “Genius, billionaire, playboy, philanthropist.” On a good day he would add “Savior of mankind.” On a bad day he’d mumble about being Thanos’ puppet, not being capable of anything more than that.   
“Please.” He finished, only to get an exasperated sigh from the agent. She knew it should have been easy too. They needed this. A moment without thinking about the last year. A simple win. A walk in the park.

But when has it ever been that easy for them anyway.

Getting in was the simple part. Join the masses, excitedly shuffle their way through the exhibits to the upper level where the Captain America exhibit lived. Large banners hung from the ceiling as they approached the entrance, each one with a different Howling Commando clinging to the thin fabric getting caught in the draft the spacious glass ceiling offered. Steve pulled his hat down lower over his eyes as they entered the exhibit. Children excitedly standing by projections of Captain America. Newsreels from the battle in New York played between shots from the days he toured as a walking war bonds advertisement. All littered with sayings like “Anyone can be a hero.” and “Save the arts, it’s what America wants.” There was an ache of nostalgia that settled in Steve’s chest. Yet, not for the war. Not for the Commandos. Not for Peggy even as she appeared on screen in a loop with Sousa. Those were all people he could see anytime he chose due in part to the time machine strapped to his wrist. Although most parties he chose only to visit once knowing if he let himself get comfortable he would have stayed.

_ “Pep-” _

_ “We’re okay. You can rest now.” _

No. Not comfortable. Comfortable was contentment. Comfortable was a lonely apartment in Brooklyn telling people to move on. Comfortable was a lie about the tenth shitty hotel him Sam and Nat stayed at when morale was low. Comfortable was getting a few moments alone where he could get his sketchpad out again only to write battle strategies and doodle in the free spaces. Going back for Tony wasn’t just a comfort. It was a necessity. A necessity that turned a comfortable enough one bedroom in Bushwick to a shared bed and a  _ home  _ in Upstate New York.

He was doing this because he needed to. Not because it would make him comfortable.

Something he only truly realized as he watched his 2014 self stare at Bucky’s display board. The world continued on around him but Steve remembered that moment singularly. Frozen in time. Missing a friend. Needing  _ someone _ to make him feel like he had some semblance of home.

Needing someone so bad that he let himself nearly kill someone he was so damn close to feeling at home with. The Accords, Thanos, the snap, Thanos again, the funeral, the  _ necessity _ . Then, the cycle begins again because of course it does.

God, Steve hated time travel.

The only thing that took his mind off of his racing thoughts was the opening of a door that women in lab coats walked out of. And right behind them was a crate with bright orange stickers labeled **“BIO-HAZARD”** **“Property of S.H.I.E.L.D circa 1943”** and **“Rodgers, Steve.”** It almost felt too easy.

“You might wanna slow down, Cap.” Natasha grabbed him by his forearm, halting the progress he had yet to even make.

“What?”

“We’ve got guests.” She pointed ahead and Steve followed her motion. Of course it wouldn’t be easy.   
“You gotta be shitting me.” He scoffed under his breath. Rumlow stood several feet away, eyes trailing the 2014 Captain. He glanced over his shoulder and made eye contact with another man across the room. Familiarly disguised as a tourist, wearing a shirt that read  _ M*A*S*H at the Smithsonian _ , a fanny pack, and a baseball cap pulled low over his eyes.

“You sound surprised.”

“Not surprised,” Steve turned back around to face Natasha. “It’s just so obvious.”

“Hindsight’s twenty-twenty.”

“Did you know?” He asked. “Then, I mean.”

Nat was silent for a moment. “I did.” She relented. “I just assumed it was paranoia on S.H.I.E.L.D’s part. I mean, you could’ve handled anything or anyone. But you were the face of a movement and leaders need bodyguards. Unfortunately, you had a lot of targets on your back, Steve. Plus, it was 2014. A lot of people wanted their own Captain Rogers.”

“They’re here for that too.” He agreed.

“Like I said, twenty-twenty.” She looked over at him. “Well, Cap. Your call.”

"We get as many civilians out of the way as we can. These people weren't meant to get hurt today so we need to keep it that way." He glanced over at the "bodyguards" once more, tracking a pattern. One of them excitedly took out a green and yellow disposable camera from his fanny pack and began taking shots at a Captain America cut out.

"After civilians are out of the way, you take him down first. Then, I distract them while you grab the samples."

"And, if they’re fakes?" 

_ Then that would be a hell of an explanation to Helen Cho _ was left unsaid. Instead he huffed, “And what if they aren’t?”

“Steve-”

The widow didn’t get another word in as he made a gesture, signaling a way to get as many civilians out of the way as possible.“We’ll just grab them in the chaos and make it back to the present before anyone notices. Less of a risk,” She followed where he was motioning to and her eyes landed on a glass encased fire alarm. “ _ If they’re fake _ .” He added.

“You’re usually not one to turn down a risk so easily.” She hummed, glancing back over at the agents as they stalked around the area.

“And you’re usually not one to ignore an order.”

“I guess a stint in the quantum realm changed both of us.” Nat said with a sly smile as she broke the glass. The alarm sounded from above them before anyone had the chance to react to the shattering noise.

The hustle began and ended with the security guards as they snapped out of their midday daze. Hurriedly, they gathered the confused tourists out of the display room, leaving only a few to make their way out themselves. Yet, Rumlow and his lackeys stayed. Confused with their guns drawn, but steady. The 2014 Captain America had already made his way out of his own exhibit, probably now somewhere among the civilians. Steve only spent a few extra seconds on the thought before him and Nat made their way upstream the chaos and into the room. The door slammed shut behind them and auto locked as soon as they entered the space.

Natasha stood guard by the door as Steve approached the box.

The dark steel caught the light and reflected off of lock that was once attached to it. Broken and cast to the side. To the right of what once was the lock box was a worn leather suitcase with gold accents on the edges. He glanced back at the door, the room behind them going silent abruptly.

Silent, except for a ticking that sped up rapidly.

“Nat-”

“On it.” They moved like a dance. Steve took over Natasha’s spot and closed the door to the display room, bracing the heavy metal with his shoulder as he pressed his ear against it.

The Black Widow leapt towards the table in one long stride. She scanned all that was scattered along the desk before settling on grabbing both the suitcase and lock box. 

She slid back over the table and passed the lock box off to Steve before keying in the specific code to get them back home. Steve was close behind.

The first thing he noticed when the two landed back on the platform in the present was that it was damp. A light reflection that bounced off the steel beneath his feet caught his eye. Nat was already off the platform before she noticed.

"What time did we leave?" She asked, turning back to face Steve.

"10:32…" He looked around, the sky had grayed significantly and clouds scattered. "It wasn't raining when we left."

"Morning dew?"

"At ten?"

"Did Stark have gardeners come in?"

"We've been gone for five seconds."

"I know but I thought you could use the optimism so you don't puke again."

Steve stepped off the platform, scanning the horizon to make certain nothing else was off.

"You don't think we-"

"We wouldn't," Natasha offered as she scanned the horizon. "We've pretty much cemented ourselves here. We're home, just-" Thunder rumbling above and a surprised laugh interrupted her train of thought.

"I was looking for you two." The voice was something Steve had yet to get used to. The stature was familiar, the green was expected. It was just Bruce's voice coming out of Hulk's body that always made him react a millisecond later than he should.

"What do you mean you were looking for us?" He said, crossing his arms over his chest.

"You were off course for a second there and I didn't know what the hell happened. I was scared someone else would've come through. But now you're back." Bruce sighed. "You're late but you're back. Oh, and Dr. Cho told me about your problem."

"You think someone came back with us?"

"That was worse case scenario. But you're the only two on the platform. You have your GP-"

Suddenly the rest of what Bruce had said registered. "How much detail did she give you?"  _ Please don't be enough to know. Please don't be enough to tell Tony. _

"Not enough to justify why you two look so panicked." Bruce insisted.

"We're coming down from a bad trip. And by the looks of it you already knew that," Natasha joked, taking a step closer to the Hulk. "Did Cho leave?"

"You just missed her."

Steve and Natasha shared a look. "How did we miss her?" Steve hummed, unsure if he was asking Nat, Bruce, or just wondering aloud.

"Only by a couple minutes." Bruce said. "An emergency came up near Baltimore. But she told me something was happening with you and… Well, I guess I'm pretty familiar with the super soldier serum and its effects. So I'm your guy again."

"He's your guy," Nat repeated, looking between the teammates. "I'll leave you boys to it."

_-_

Steve thought it best not to stay in the lab while Bruce was testing. He would have attempted at conversation while music crept in through the speakers just loud enough for the strings to be heard at their peak but not much else. He would have told Steve about his discoveries as he went, not the way Tony did which was spit out like lightning yet all in one breath. Bruce would point out something he had noticed, compare it to another test from years ago, only to still when he realized the results could be disastrous.

Steve forced a deep breath. Maybe he was just anxious. At least that’s what he told himself as another wave of nausea washed over him. Another deep breath.

“Don’t throw up again.” Steve looked up to see Natasha walking into the atrium and pulled a stool up so she could be beside his armchair.

“I’ll do my best,” He joked. “Just for you.”

“I appreciate that.”

“Don’t mention it.”   
“What are the other symptoms?”

Steve paused. “Who said anything about other symptoms? Hell, who said anything about symptoms in general?”

“You did.” She changed her position, perching herself atop the stool. Her expression changed to that of steel. “At the party. You told Bucky.”

“And Buck told you?” Steve sighed, rubbing a hand across his face. “You’d think the guy would know how to keep a secret.”

“We have weekly slumber parties and braid each others hair just to gossip about you.”

“I believe it.”

“No, Tony told me.” That made Steve’s blood run cold.

“Shit.”

“Bucky told Tony.”

“How much did Tony-”

“Stark was worried about the coughing and Barnes just reminded him you had asthma and that it must be acting up again.” She hummed, letting her gaze drop. “He’s worried. They’re both worried.”

“So Stark came to you about it?” Steve scoffed.

“He asked me if I had noticed if you were getting sick or even if you could. I told him I hadn’t.”

“Good.” Steve began, but was cut off once more.

“That reminds me,” She beamed, handing over a small box with an all too colorful design on it. Nat knew the answer already, but she wanted proof. Or maybe, she wanted Steve to finally admit it. Whichever came first. "Favor."   
“A pregnancy test?” Steve sputtered. Without thinking, he grabbed it. “Where did you even-”

“Wanda’s room.” Natasha shrugged. “Let’s not unpack that right now.”

"They already did blood tests." He insisted.

"Cho didn't record anything worth reading."

"Your answer is in there."

"But was yours?" Nat ventured. “We know something’s wrong. With the serum, with you, with whatever. But I think you’ve got other things going on, Captain.”

Steve went silent, something that has been happening more often than not since Bucky's suggestion. As if he was too scared to admit it. There was a rolling feeling deep in his stomach that Steve could only hope was the sense of nausea that came when truth had to be met head on.

His gaze went back to scanning over the box. A woman with a plastered smile graced the glossed cardboard holding a small baby in her arms. Everything about it looked so manufactured, but something deep in Steve knew he would have been that ecstatic too. Had the time been right. Had the world not just ended. Had the accords not still threatened the safety of his family.

He extended his arm and held the box on his palm. She opened her mouth to protest, but Steve's voice somehow managed to escape his throat first.

"It would have been positive."

"What would have been positive?" The box exchanged hands faster than the interjection from Stark across the room could finish. The test was tucked away into Natasha's holster and she shot Steve a warning.

Her eyes were still daggers piercing into his skull when she spoke up. "There's a charge coming off of the GPS whenever we travel more than 8 years. It only happens when we're coming back. Steve was just…" Nat finally broke her gaze. "Correcting my math."

Steve would have to remember to thank her later. 

"Are you slipping, Nat?" Tony asked with mock concern as he leaned his weight onto Steve's shoulders before pressing a kiss to the top of his head.

"No, I think I'm just catching up."

"You guys should just retire time missions." Tony continued as Steve grabbed hold of his partner's right hand. "They weren't programmed to this year."

"Didn't expect we'd make it this far?" Steve asked, craning his neck up to meet Tony's eyes. 

"Sure as hell didn't think  _ I _ would." He paused. "Maybe I'll get an intern. Someone to be Iron Man once I retire."

"Again, with retiring." Steve scoffed. "You know you wouldn't."

"Could put a pin in it if I wanted to… almost did."

"But you're here now."

"Whose fault is that?"

"Should I leave you two lovebirds alone?" Nat laughed, already making her way to the door. Instead, Bruce rushed in, his mouth open to say something and a deep concern in his eyes. Only to stop in his tracks once he saw Stark.

"Tony…"

“Yeah big guy?” Tony asked, looking up.

“I just… needed to steal Steve for a second.”

“Can it wait?” Steve shot Bruce a look that read  _ Not in front of Tony. _

There was silence for a second too long before Bruce spoke back up. “It’s nothing Cho hadn’t seen before.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Don't worry it'll update sooner than a year this time. Maybe even... in a couple of days. Also writing has just been a struggle lately because i get so specific about perfecting it but at the same time that's why I started writing this in the first place. Low stakes, just chilling. We're all here for a good time and I shouldn't obsess. Anyway, I missed this story and it's good to be back officially.


End file.
